On 21 February 2012 The Guardian reported that the United Kingdom's Secretary for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Caroline Spelman had stated that drought-resistant (DT), gene-modified (GM) technology offered one solution to food security. She drew this conclusion in discussing how drought may be "the new norm for the UK."

Currently parts England from the Midlands and south are either officially in drought or in such high risk of drought that water restrictions are inevitable.

Spelman suggested that the U.K. consider the crop research currently underway in Australia on DT GM rice. In her words, "this technology, if used responsibly, may be one of the tools in terms of food security that we need going forward. ... It could be one of the tools in the tool kit to help us with food security. The key thing is to keep investing in the science base."